Textiles and methods and systems for producing textiles

Abstract

Textiles are provided that include fibrous cellulosic materials having an α-cellulose content of less than about 93%, the fibrous materials being spun, woven, knitted, or entangled. The fibrous cellulosic materials can be irradiated with a dose of ionizing radiation that is sufficient to increase the molecular weight of the cellulosic materials without causing significant depolymerization of the cellulosic materials. Methods of treating textiles that include irradiating the textiles are also provided.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of treating a textile, the method comprising:
 irradiating a textile to cross-link fibers of the textile, where the textile is in the form of a yarn or fabric comprising a fibrous cellulosic material having a first molecular weight and a moisture content of 2 to 6 weight percent, and where the textile is treated with a dose of ionizing electron beam radiation of about 0.10 up to about 2.5 MRad, and where the treatment cross-links the fibers to increase the molecular weight of the cellulosic material to provide an irradiated textile comprising a second fibrous cellulosic material having a second molecular weight higher than the first molecular weight; and 
 cooling the irradiated textile by contacting the textile with nitrogen gas at a temperature lower than the irradiated textile, wherein the nitrogen gas is cooled to about 77° K. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dose of ionizing radiation is at a level of about 0.25 to about 2.5 MRad. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein electrons in the electron beam have an energy of about 7.5 MeV or less. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising quenching the irradiated textile. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 4 , wherein quenching is performed in the presence of a gas selected to react with radical present on the irradiated textile. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous cellulosic material has an α-cellulose content of less than about 93%. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous cellulosic material is selected from the group consisting of flax, hemp, jute, abaca, sisal, wheat straw, LF, ramie, bamboo fibers, cuprammonium cellulose, regenerated wood cellulose, lyocell, cellulose acetate, and blends thereof. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the fibrous cellulosic material comprises cotton. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  wherein irradiating increases the molecular weight of the fibrous cellulosic material by at least 10%. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1  wherein irradiating increases the molecular weight of the fibrous cellulosic material by at least 25%. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1  further comprising, after cooling, irradiating the textile again. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1  wherein electrons in the electron beam have an energy of greater than 1.0 MeV. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 after cooling the textile, applying an additive to the textile. 
 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 1  where the electrons in the electron beam have an ionizing radiation dose rate of greater than 0.15 MRad/sec.